Michael Flatley has urged foreign companies to set up in Ireland as part of a campaign aiming at attracting 5,000 new jobs to the country by the end of 2018.

A Scottish man who helped deliver 30 new high-end jobs to Ireland through a Government-backed cash-for-jobs initiative is poised to get a €45,000 “thank you” cheque.

The Government’s innovative referral programme, ConnectIreland, has projects that could generate up to 800 jobs in Ireland by 2015.